The Hand of Saint Sebastian
| }} /Credits|Credits}} /Gallery|Gallery}} /Transcript|Transcript}} }} "The Hand of Saint Sebastian" is the eighth episode of the second season of Millennium. Synopsis Frank Black and Peter Watts search for an ancient artifact in Germany while secretive operatives try to kill them. Summary In 998, a monk is betrayed by his compatriot, and shot to death by archers. As they search his robe to find their objective—the mummified hand of Saint Sebastian—they notices a tattoo on the man's body; an ouroboros, symbol of the Millennium Group. In 1998, modern Group member Peter Watts (Terry O'Quinn) asks his colleague Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) for help with a case the Group have not authorized; he remains cryptic as to what it is. They travel to Germany to investigate the murder of a Dr. Schlossburg, whose lab is found to house a mummified body. The two are arrested by German police, but when the police realize they have apprehended fellow investigators they promise cooperation. However, the pair learn that Schlossburg has already been cremated; later they narrowly escape death when their rental car has been rigged with a car bomb. Black connects the attempt on their lives to Schlossburg's murder. He demands details of the case from Watts, who explains that the mummy found earlier dates to early Christianity, the time when the Millennium Group first convened. However, they realize they are being tailed by two men, and return to their hotel. There, they are met by Cheryl Andrews (C. C. H. Pounder), a fellow Group member who has worked with them in the past. She offers her help but Watts declines it. Watts is later able to access Schlossburg's computer files; meanwhile, the doctor is found to be alive, regaining consciousness in a hospital bed and telling police his assailant was Watts. Andrews tells Black she has been sent to prevent Watts acting outside the Group's remit; she gives Black a contact number and leaves. Later, Black returns to Schlossburg's lab and finds Watts, who explains that a knightly order, the Knights Chroniclers, had possessed the relic of Saint Sebastian at the turn of the second millennium; the hand imparts knowledge to its possessor that will help to overcome the evils associated with the turn of the millennium. Watts reveals that Schlossburg had uncovered the order's burial ground. Black and Watts learn that Schlossburg is alive and visit him; the doctor does not recognize Watts, but insists that his attacker identified himself as "Peter Watts". He reveals the locations of the burial ground, in a peat bog. Black and Watts leave to reach it; Schlossburg is murdered shortly afterwards by two assassins. At the bog, the pair find a mummified corpse clutching the relic; however, they have been followed by the police, and Watts is arrested for Schlossburg's murder. Black tracks down Andrews at the storage building where the relic has been taken. They are ambushed by the two assassins, and during their escape, Black mentions where the relic is hidden. Andrews immediately turns on Black; the ambush was a trick to draw the information out of Black, while she had engineered events to use Watts as a fall man to discredit the Group. However, the police are able to intervene, hearing everything and rescuing Black. Later, Watts and Black study the relic, but Black is convinced that their own convictions will be more important to them than mystical artefacts. Background Information Trivia *This is the first episode to establish "This is who we are" as a trademark phrase of the Millennium Group. However, the phrase had previously appeared in the opening credits sequence of each episode since "The Beginning & the End", the first episode of Season 2. *Frank's computer display reads: "Welcome Frank. There are 779 days remaining." Cast and Characters *Stephen Dimopoulos (Detective Betzdorf) previously played Ionesco in The X-Files episode "Død Kalm" and Detective in "Talitha Cumi". *Noah Heney (Provider) previously played Charles Horvath in The X-Files episode "Covenant". Cast Main Cast *Lance Henriksen as Frank Black *Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black Also Staring *Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts Guest Starring *Philip Baker Hall as Group Elder *Gottfried John as Josef Heim *Allan Zinyk as Brian Roedecker *C. C. H. Pounder as Cheryl Andrews Co-Starring *Stephen Dimopoulos as Detective Betzdorf *Christine Lippa as German Police Captain Featuring *Grahame Andrews as Dr Schlossburg *Damon Johnson as Hospital Security *Stefano Giulianetti as Fugitive *Noah Heney as Provider References Bremerhaven; Germany; Millennium Group; Hand of Saint Sebastian, The =Episode Navigation=